Every New Mexican Pays Over $400 a Year in Taxes to Subsidize Excessive Drinking1 Whether They Drink or Not!

The Solution:

Consumers will pay in proportion to how much they drink—the bulk of the tax increase will be paid by the small percentage of those who consume the most alcohol, which causes the greatest economic and societal harm

The 49% of New Mexicans who do not drink will not pay a cent. The 32% of New Mexicans who do not drink excessively will only pay an additional $9.85 per year. Excessive drinkers will pay an additional cost of $51.14 per year.

The increased cost of alcohol will result in a 10% decrease in consumption and will lower the costs of health insurance, as well as the costs cities & counties incur for police, emergency medical care, and detention and court cases

A 25¢ per drink increase in New Mexico’s Alcohol Excise Tax would result in $154,090,910 in new state revenues

1Excessive Drinking includes: 1) binge drinking—5 or more in a sitting by men, 4 or more by women, 2) heavy drinking—15 or more drinks per week by men, 8 or more for women, 3) drinking by pregnant women, 4) drinking by people under age 21.